


Vintage

by ChaoticFayth



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Drinking, Fluff, Hero Worship, M/M, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-04
Updated: 2012-05-04
Packaged: 2018-07-19 06:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7350481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticFayth/pseuds/ChaoticFayth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Steve Rogers' live-in guide to the 21st century, he's got quite a job on his hands. Especially when it comes to keeping his fanboy complex under-wraps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic that was written years ago. I might be posting this in 2016, but it was written way back before I'd ever seen Agents of SHIELD or any of the modern bits of SHIELD lore. Have some meaningless fluff.

Phil Coulson had always been a fan of the great Captain America.

Grown up with stacks of comic books, kept in the most pristine condition and all the toys and memorabilia that one could imagine. Never had he been a remarkable child in his youth - quiet and kept to himself, but when he opened one of his comic books and followed Captain Steve Rogers, the personification of what it meant to be one of the little guys and come out on top, he was proud of who he was, no matter what.

Not to mention that Coulson had never truly sought others out for companionship in his life. After all, who would ever live up to the one person he looked up to his entire childhood? The perfect American super-soldier who inspired people the world over? Whereas Coulson welcomed friends as they came to him, he was content with his comic books and memorabilia. 

And from the first day that SHIELD brought him into the fold, Phil Coulson had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. But, it was a big change, and spurred on by memories of the adventures of his greatest hero, Coulson quickly became the best that he could be. Better than the best - Coulson was top of his league, commanding agents knowing in his heart that, were Captain America around to see him, surely he would be proud.

It never occurred to him, that even in the vastness of SHIELD, he would find himself in just that position - standing in the room with his living, breathing hero. The moment that they had pulled long-lost Captain Steve Rogers from the ice, Coulson felt like his heart had stopped. There he was: strong, handsome, perfect in every way. And just as if a day had not gone by.

What other thing could he have ever dreamed of?

When they realized what was actually happening - when thawing him out had actually worked, Coulson was the first in line to assign himself to guarding Steve’s chambers. But he couldn’t help to sneak in for a peek on his own, simply reveling in the presence of his perfect idol. Pale cheeks splattered with freckles, fine blonde hair drifting across his forehead, sculpted muscles below smooth skin and pressed clothing. Oh, the real Steve was better than anything that Coulson had ever imagined.

As days crawled on, things only became more surreal.

Coulson was assigned as Cap’s very own SHIELD detail. They had pulled him away while Stark Tower was being constructed - in which Stark himself was taking a sabbatical to spend time with his lovely Ms. Potts - and let him follow his idol around Manhattan. It was peculiar, how Steve had taken a shining to him. In a world so new and strange, the Captain had latched onto the first constant that his new life had known. This more than delighted Coulson, and he hung onto every word like an eager little child.

Together, they slowly integrated Cap with the new society at large. Visiting restaurants, movies, different events. The joy on Steve’s face as he first saw a modern baseball game was something that Coulson would cherish for the rest of his life. He wasn’t sure when the Captain started referring to him by his first name, but each time he hears a “Well, would ya look at that?” followed by a “Hey Phil, you’ve got to see this!”, he follows along no matter what it is, grinning all the way.

It’s one day in Central Park, when a group of kids drag Steve away to teach them to play catch, that Coulson begun to realize what exactly was happening. He smiled, stood off to the side and watched as the tall, strong blond soldier was patient and kind with children he had never before seen. It took him a moment to realize the pair of women that had settled next to him were the mothers of those very children, and Coulson, being his politely friendly self, chatted with them in return.

And it wasn’t until Coulson checked his watch and began to gather Steve’s attention to leave that the women spoke up, tittered at Coulson about how it was so lovely that that big handsome man of his was so good with children. Coulson didn’t immediately realize the implication, merely smiled and bid them farewell as Steve rejoined him, but it did strike him as curious.

Especially that this was no isolated incident. He began to realize the fact that whatever restaurant that they went to, no one ever assumed that they could be on separate tickets; it wasn’t as though they were, being on SHIELD retinue after all. Or how Steve kept an arm around his shoulders half the time when they were walking together - the man was just friendly, correct?

Nothing truly dawned on him until Steve, being his good samaritan self, was carrying the groceries of an elderly woman to her apartment. Steve led the way, guiding on directions alone, as the small woman walked arm-in-arm with Coulson for support - she had left her cane at home, of course. And as Steve scaled the stairs to deposit the groceries in the apartment, the little old granny leaned up, gave Coulson a gentle peck on the cheek, and told him how lucky he was to have such a lovely man like Steve at his side, that Coulson finally realized.

All the movies and sports games, each restaurant visit and stroll through the park because Steve “needed some real fresh air”, it was more than just acclimatizing Steve to modern day society. They’d become close, obviously so.

And as Coulson sat in the kitchen of the loft that SHIELD had designated for them - Coulson had been sharing space to stay close-at-hand if Steve needed him - pouring over paperwork, that he took note of the casual calm that the blond had as he handed him a beer from the fridge and sat across from him at the table. This was routine for them, late-night beers and pages of SHIELD documents. 

But it was a saturday night, and Coulson put the paperwork away early in favor of pleasant conversation with the man that had quickly become his best friend in the world. No, not quickly. After all, growing up, Coulson could only ever claim having Cap as his friend. It was Coulson that was new for Steve, as so many other things were. And he seemed to be the one new thing that Steve never had any sort of qualms with.

Coulson was caught in a dippy little smile, cheeks flushed from his five beers to Cap’s easy eight - he still tried to subconsciously keep up with Steve, not yet used to the fact that he would never be able to - by the fact that Steve was chuckling at him. “I think it’s time we get you to bed. Don’t want to drink you under the table, buddy.”

All Coulson could do was agree, letting the other man help him up onto unsteady legs and away from the kitchen area. The brunette leaned heavily on Cap’s side, babbling on with slurred speech about something unimportant, and still Steve just smiled. When they finally reached Coulson’s room, he just laughed breathlessly at himself, leaning against the door as he turned back to Cap - and the blond was still there, leaned against the doorframe, the most casual thing in the world.

“Gon’ stand there all night?” Coulson was slurring, but amusing himself all the same. Though it was Steve’s smile, his distinctive nod, that softened Coulson’s features once more. 

“Someone needs to look after you, it seems,” of course, Steve was joking, that gleaming smile spread across his features.

“Not how this is s'pposed to work. ’M your bodyguard, y'know.” Swaying a bit, Coulson raised a hand, playfully chiding Steve, and the other man put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. 

“I know.”

And that hand was so warm and real that Coulson, for his lack of current barriers, had to move his hand back and cover those strong fingers curiously, feeling at the rough hands of a soldier. He barely noticed that Steve had moved in slowly, until his other hand cupped Coulson’s cheek and damned if Coulson knew how he was presently standing, with such a magnificent man so close to him. 

Before he knew it, soft lips were pressing against his own, the hand that was once on his shoulder now on his lower back to steady him and all Coulson could do was wrap his arms around Steve and hold on, eyes slid shut as he simply felt the other man kiss him.

When Steve pulled back again, just a few short inches, Coulson felt, more than heard, Steve reiterate. Warm breath ghosted a soft “I know” across his lips, and it was in that very moment that Coulson realized that this was something far more than hero-worship. That somehow, some way, he and Steve had managed to get themselves tangled up in something that neither of them hardly knew anything about.

And just that fact alone was awe-inspiring.


	2. Chapter 2

Of course it’d been his day off. 

With Steve out of the apartment training, Phil had been left with more than ample time on his hands. A day free from leading his new best friend around the city at large and watching as he acclimatized himself to his new surroundings. And as much as he absolutely adored hanging around the big ol’ guy, he did have a tendency to be a handful at times.  
Not to mention there was one little fact that Phil had kept neatly hidden away from the Captain while SHIELD had stationed them into civilian housing together: his collection of Captain America memorabilia. How were you supposed to tell your sudden near-constant companion that you’d grown up knowing his every story by heart and gathering everything about his alter ego together as humanly possible?

A damned difficult thing, it was.

So, with Steve up to his elbows in a SHIELD training, Coulson was finally allowed a breather in more ways than one. No watching the gentle giant of a soldier attempt to integrate himself into the new century - no hiding himself even in his own apartment. He could sit back, relax with his favorite shield-covered lounge pants with a hot cup of coffee and simply read through reports.

But there were only so many reports that an active mind like Coulson’s could flit through before it began to wander. And wander it did - straight back to the reason why he’d woken up that morning with a dull throb in the back of his head. Nothing that some advil and a tall glass of water hadn’t taken care of, but he really had to learn to not try to drink with the Captain.

Or at least to not subconsciously try to keep up with his drinking. He didn’t want to end up making an ass of himself yet again - or better yet, to spur something on that he hadn’t been sure that either of them had wanted.

Coulson sat the report down on next to himself, instead opting for holding his now half-full and only lukewarm cup of coffee in both hands. Maybe his near-obsession had gone a bit far. Maybe it was too much - his love for all things Captain America. Too much when he was now the charge of the big man in the stars and stripes. He’d been entrusted with watching over Steve, with taking care of him in a new and scary world, not—

Not managing to develop feelings for him. 

But he hadn’t made the first move, had he? It had been Steve who had escorted a quite sloshed Coulson back to his room, and Steve that had - Coulson found his lips pressed into a fine line, brows furrowed as he tried to sort all of these jumbled thoughts back out into a coherent unit. Steve Rogers had kissed him, last night, unprompted.

And in all of this thinking, Phil didn’t notice as the door to the apartment unlocked itself and Steve slipped back inside; heavy duffle bag over one shoulder and keys in the other. No, he barely registered the noise of what could be footsteps down the hall - it could be one of the neighbors in their own apartment, of course - until there was a sharp rap of knuckles on the frame of his open bedroom door, and a civilian-clothed Captain America was standing half in the hall and half in the doorway, watching him.

A lopsided, amused smile rested on Steve’s face as Phil looked up and visibly paled, realizing that there he was, clothed in the most obnoxiously patterned sleep pants in superhero-idolization history, and the man behind the heroic namesake had caught him in them red-handed. ”Didn’t realize you’d be done so early.”

“Neither did the handful of recruits they’d sent to train with me.” The captain chuckled, tilting his head to the side just a bit. “You enjoy the rest of that cup of joe, alright? Don’t mind me.”

And with that, Steve had slipped out of the doorway and presumably to his own room. Leaving Coulson grumbling loudly at himself. Well, his secret was certainly out now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to my original notes on this, there was supposed to be more chapters. But I know there won't be as I have no more interest in writing any. Sorry, folks, have some close-ended fluff.


End file.
